a reason to believe
by 59katie
Summary: after Alex returns home with amnesia Walker and Alex try to put their lives back together but someone who knows Gordan Cahill is determined to break them up.


A Reason to Believe by Katie 59

Chapter One

Gordan Cahill was on his way to the ranch to see his daughter Alex Cahill-Walker who had recently been released from the hospital and was suffering from a case of amnesia and he wasn't sure that it was the right thing to do. Gordan had decided not to go out to the ranch to visit his daughter the first week that she was home from the hospital because he wanted to give her a chance to overcome her fear of being left alone with her husband Cordell Walker. [Due to what had happened to her while she was presumed dead Alex was very scared that Walker would abuse her.] However Alex had called her father at his office and had pleaded so strongly for him to come see her on her second day home from the hospital that he agreed to come out for a visit after he was done in court for the day. Gordan arrived at the ranch and was greeted by his son-in-law Cordell Walker who asked him " Gordan what are you doing here?"  
" Alex called me earlier today and practically begged me to come out here to see her. When I asked her what for she said that she just needed to see a friendly face for a change. But I sensed that something is really bothering her and that for some reason she doesn't feel comfortable discussing it with you. Walker I tried calling you at Ranger Headquarters to see if it was all right if I visited Alex this evening but they said that you were out of the office and didn't know when you would return." Gordan explained to Walker who replied " I took a leave of absence from work so that I could be here for Alex in case she needed me. When I asked her if everything was okay at breakfast Alex said that it was but I guess that it wasn't because she had you come out here. Listen I'm going to go and take care of some chores in the barn. That way Alex will feel free to talk with you about whatever is bothering her. You go ahead into the house. She should be in the living room with the children."  
Gordan went into the house where Beth asked him " Grandpa Gordan are you here to see us?" Gordan hugged his grandaughter as he answered " I came to visit with you and to see how your mother is doing. Where is she by the way?"  
" In the kitchen making dinner. I'm watching Little Cord for her." Beth replied. " Okay. I'll just go into the kitchen and see if I can help her." Gordan told her then went into the kitchen where he found Alex muttering to herself ' How can I possibly be married to such a stubborn know-it-all man? What was I thinking the day that I married him besides the obvious? That man is pretty good looking in a cowboy sort of way.'  
Gordan cleared his throat to let Alex know that he was there then he questioned her " Are you okay Alex? Why did you want me to come out here tonight? You don't want to move into my place already, do you? Didn't you promise to give Walker a week before you moved out on him with his children?"  
" Dad will you stop questioning me like a lawyer would and instead just try and help me out like a father should." Alex pleaded with her father who replied " Sorry honey. I was talking like a lawyer. Let me try again, what do you need me to do for you?"  
" Get Walker to go back to work tomorrow. He's driving me crazy by always hovering over me and the children. He acts like I'm going to take off with them as soon as his back is turned." Alex informed her father who stalled for time to collect his thoughts by sampling the stew that she was making then he bluntly asked her " Are you planning on taking off with his children the minute his back is turned? You aren't denying that you've thought about it, are you?"  
" Yes I have thought about it but even though he scares me to death I can also see that he loves the children very much and that they love him very much. So no, I'm not about to tear his family apart. Dad the reason that I need Walker to return to work is so that I'll be able to interact with my own children and find out what they like and don't like without their father supplying all the answers. You can understand me wanting to get to know my own babies can't you?" Alex ended her explaination with another plea for her father.  
" I'll talk to Walker about his returning to work tomorrow but you have to agree that he can call you during the day and check up on you. Now Alex before you get upset you have to see this from his point of view. His wife who was missing for three months and returned home with amnesia wants to be left on her own with his children. Walker just wants to make sure that his family is doing okay and you can't really blame him for that." Gordan said to his daughter who nodded okay.  
Later on that evening when Alex had taken the baby upstairs to the nursery Gordan and Walker went out onto the porch where Gordan told him " Walker Alex wants you to return to work tomorrow and I promised her that I would talk to you about it. Just think about it will you? Alex said that she needed to get to know her babies on her own without you supplying all of the answers. I did tell my daughter however though that you had the right to call here during the day and check up on them. So what do you say? Will you go back to work tomorrow?"  
" Against my better judgement I will if Alex feels that strongly about it. I know that she's still scared to death of me and I can't figure out why." Walker said to his father-in-law.  
" It could be a lot of things, but I think that she's scared that you will beat her like that bastard who stole her from the hospital did. How anyone could claim someone as their wife when she wasn't is beyond me. Walker don't take her fear personally, after all Alex is staying out here with you in spite of her fears so there must be a part of her that does trust you. She just hasn't remembered why she trusts you with her life but in time she will. Just keep that in mind will you?" Gordan told him.  
After Gordan left Alex was hurrying for the stairs to avoid talking to Walker when he told her " Alex I'm returning to work tomorrow but if you or the children need me for anything I want you to call me at Ranger headquarters and I'll come home as soon as I can. Okay?" Instead of answering him verbally Alex nodded okay and all but ran up the steps.

Chapter Two

Walker entered the kitchen to find Alex making breakfast so he informed her " Alex I really don't think that it's a good idea for me to return to work and leave you all on your own out here. What if something were to happen to our son and you didn't know what to do? I wouldn't be able to get back here in time to help you out."  
Alex replied " Walker I really need to spend some time alone with my babies so that I can get to know them. As things stand right now I can't take a step without you asking me what's wrong or what do I need. You're driving me crazy and it has to stop before I really do end up going insane. I may have amnesia but I do know how to take care of my babies. Why can't you understand that I would never harm them and give me some time alone with them?"  
" Okay you win, as always. I'll go to work today but if anything happens while I'm there I am not going to work tomorrow. I will stay here to protect my family. No matter what you or anybody else says." Walker answered Alex's plea. This upset her further and she snapped at him " For God's sake Walker. I already told my father that I wasn't going to run off with the children the second your back is turned. Do I have to make you the same promise? Because I will if that's the only way that I can get you out of my hair and back to work. So what is it going to be? Are you going to return to work or are you going to stay here and hover over me like some sort of hawk who's just waiting to pounce on it's prey, me?"  
Picking up on the fact that Alex had promised her father not to take off with the children when his back was turned a stunned Walker questioned her " Alex why did your father make you promise not to run off with the children? I mean you hadn't thought about running away with them? Or did you?"  
Alex too scared to answer him with words just nodded her head yes as a few tears seeped from her eyes. Very upset but knowing that he had to be careful in how he handled Alex's admission that she had thought about taking the children away from him Walker said " Alex I know that you are scared to death of me but I don't know why. I promise you that I would never ever hurt you in any way. I love you and I want you to be happy so if that means that you need to spend some time alone with the children I'll go along with your wishes. I also promise you that if it gets to the point where you feel as though you need to take the children and move in with your father for a while I won't stand in your way. But I want you to promise me that you'll talk to me or someone else about your fears because I can't help you if I don't know why you're scared to death of me. I happen to love you more than I could ever tell you."  
" You're in love with your wife and right now I'm not her. I also can't promise you that I'll ever be her again. Walker I need to find out who I am before I can worry about you wanting your Alex back. I'm sorry if that bothers you but it's not going to change." Alex replied. Without another word Walker left the kitchen to see to their children. As Walker was getting ready to take Beth to her bus stop Alex asked him " What happens if I need to go the store or something? How will I get there?"  
Walker went over to the table that was in the hallway removed a purse from it and handed it to her as he told her " The keys to the minivan are in there, it's one of your purses. If you end up going to the store would you mind picking up some coffee? We're running low."  
Taking the purse from him Alex questioned her husband " What am I going to do for money? I don't have a job right now so that must mean that I don't have any money of my own. Can you give me some to buy things for the house?"  
" Alex we both have our own bank accounts and we also have a joint one that we both put money into for the expenses for our family. I pay for all the ranching expenses. You manage the household checking account. You've done so ever since we were married. The check book for that is in your purse along with the one you have for your own account." Walker explained to Alex who took out the check books and looked them over.  
After Walker returned from dropping Beth off he suggested to her " Alex if you do go out today how about meeting me for lunch at C.D.'s? I'll bet that he really wants to see you but didn't want to impose on you here at the ranch."  
" I just might do that cowboy." Alex replied then headed upstairs leaving Walker standing in the hallway.  
Around 12:30 Walker and Trivette went into C.D.'s where they found Alex in a booth but there was also a man sitting in the booth with Alex, Little Cord wasn't there. The man was asking Alex " How about you dance with me? A pretty lady like you shouldn't be sitting here all by yourself." Alex shook her head no but the man tried again " Come on lady, what are you waiting for? I say let's dance while the dancing's good."  
Walker yanked the man up by his shirt collar and growled at him " The lady isn't interested, now get lost." The man sneered " Make me." Walker tossed him towards the door and sat down besides Alex but she flinched away from him so he got up and moved to sit across from her. Trivette seeing Alex flinch away from Walker asked her " Hey Alex, is it okay if I sit next to you? You don't have to worry about me hitting on you and I'll give you two reasons why. One I happen to like sitting next to a lovely lady."  
Alex smiled and motioned for Trivette to seat himself and after he had done so she asked him " Jimmie what's the other reason that you wanted to sit besides me?" Trivette answered as he pointed out a beautiful woman that was sitting at the bar " I want her to get a little bit jealous and agree to go out on a date with me. When I asked her out the other night Tawny told me that she wasn't interested in a man who would sit in a bar by himself. So the way I figure it is that now she's seen me sitting with you she'll get jealous and agree to a date with me. As a matter of fact I'm going over there right now and ask her out."  
After Trivette left the booth C.D. came over with Little Cord and handed him to Alex who handed him to Walker who made funny faces at his young son. Looking at some of the faces that Walker made at the baby and having noticed the way that her son's eyes had lit up when he saw his father Alex smiled. Noticing this C.D. told her " Walker is the best father that I've ever seen. He adores his children and takes very good care of them. Better than a lot of men who call themselves fathers do. You need to keep that in mind about your husband Alex. You could do far worse than Cordell here."  
Walker objected " C.D., Alex doesn't need a lecture on my feelings for our children." C.D. replied " Just pointing out a few facts Cordell." Then he got up and went over to the bar. Alex looked at Walker and said to him " I may be scared to death of you Walker but my baby isn't and that's good enough for me. So I guess that means I'd better go see someone to overcome my fears about you physically assaulting me along with you sexually abusing me. I may not remember giving birth to my children but I love them with everything inside of me and I want what's best from them and that's growing up with a set of parents who love them. Not to change the subject but do you want me to make you anything specific for dinner? And please don't say turkey mealoaf because it's way too hot for me to have the oven on that long."  
Walker answered " How about pasta and a salad? Little Cord can eat the pasta and Beth really likes the way that you make it. And don't forget the garlic bread." Alex took the baby back from Walker and told him " Pasta it is then, see you at home."  
On her way out the door Alex was bumped into by a woman who held out her hand and introduced herself " Hello there Alex. My name is Gretchen Mueller and I work with your father. Listen I don't have time to talk with you right now but is it okay if I come out to the ranch and visit you in a couple of days? There's some things that you really need to know about. Things that what went on out there while you were gone. Your father really wants you to know these things but he doesn't want to get Walker upset with him. He wants to be able to see his grandchildren."  
" I guess that would be okay. Give me your number and I'll let you know when you can visit." Alex replied and Gretchen quickly wrote down her phone number. Alex then left C.D.'s.  
Gretchen went over to where Walker was sitting in the booth and slid in besides him as she asked him " How are you doing Cordell? Now that Alex has returned it must be hard on you to have a woman at your house who claims that amnesia was the reason she had been missing all that time. Is there anything that I can do for you? If you ever need someone to talk with I'm available for that and a whole lot more. A man like you needs to know that a woman like me is there for him, in every way possible." Realizing that Gretchen had been hitting on him Walker snapped " I'm not interested. Now get out of my way." Gretchen got up from the booth allowing Walker to also get up. Trivette who had been watching the exchange between Walker and Gretchen told Walker when he came over to the bar " I'd stay away from her. She wants you in the worst way."  
" I know that Trivette and I already told her that I wasn't interested, okay?" Walker said to his partner who answered " Okay but I have a feeling that she's nothing but trouble."

Chapter Three

After dinner was over with Alex headed into the kitchen to do the dishes but stopped when Walker volunteered to do them by saying to her " Alex since you cooked the dinner I'll clean up the kitchen. Why don't you go relax in the living room while I'm doing that?" Alex quickly agreed to the suggestion and went into the living room to be with her children. Alex was surprised when Beth asked her " Mommy since you don't remember Daddy does that mean we're going to be moving back into that cabin that we used to live in? Because I don't want to live there again. I want to live here with you and Daddy and my baby brother."  
Alex questioned her daughter " What cabin are you talking about Beth?" Beth replied " You know Mommy. The one that's a few minutes away from here. When that bad man stabbed you and you were in the hospital I came here to live with Daddy and he told me that he was my Daddy then. After you came home from the hospital we lived here for a while until you got better then we moved to the cabin so that I could keep an eye on you for Daddy. Then we moved back in here and you and Daddy got married. I was in your wedding Mommy. So were Grandpa Gordan, Grandpa C.D. and Uncle Jimmie."  
Having no idea about what had happened in the past but wanting to assure her daughter that she would still stay at the ranch house Alex answered " No honey we are not going to be moving back to that cabin any time soon. Now how are you coming with that homework?" Beth sighed and got out her mathbook. After a few minutes she said " Mommy I can't get this problem. Can you do it for me?"  
Alex looked at the problem then asked " What do you think the answer should be?" Beth muttered as she started figuring out the problem. " You're just like Daddy, he makes me figure out the problem too." Beth then did the rest of her homework with Alex only supplying hints on how to solve the problems. When Walker came into the room he asked Beth " Is your homework done?"  
Closing her mathbook Beth answered " Yes it is Daddy and Mommy is just like you, she won't give me the answers either." Walker looked at Alex who said " Beth wanted me to give her the answers but I think that it's important that our children be able to think for themselves so I had her figure the problems out. I only gave her a few hints so that she could figure out the answers."  
Later on after the children were in bed Walker was locking up for the night when Alex came back downstairs and asked him " Walker can you please explain to me what Beth was talking about earlier tonight? She was saying something about the two of us living in a cabin nearby and from what she was telling me we weren't married when she was born. How can that be? I mean we've been married for at least ten years. Haven't we?"  
" No we haven't been married for ten years. In a couple of months we will have been married for two years. Alex I'm not sure how much to tell you about that time but you do have the right to know your own past. Years ago I was engaged to a woman named Ellen and we were gunned down, I survived but she didn't. After her death I didn't care if I lived or died. I began to ride bulls for charity at that time too. Well to make a long story short I was in a bar drinking one night when a rodeo rider drugged you and...well I took you off of him. Years later you came to town with Beth and I realized that she was my daughter. After you were stabbed in the back you came here to live until you were able to get back on your feet. A few months later I suggested that you and Beth move into that cabin and you agreed. Shortly after that we were married and then we had Little Cord." Walker briefly explained the past to Alex.  
" Are you trying to tell me that I married a man who took advantage of me after another man drugged me? No wonder I'm scared to death that you're going to abuse me. It turns out that you've already abused me at the very least. God what was I thinking when I married you? Or did you force me to marry you and have sex with you by using my concern for my daughter's happiness?" Alex questioned him in a state of shock.  
" Alex I know that this is hard to believe but we were in love when we got married. I did not then nor will I ever use my children in an effort to get their mother to stay with me. I want a wife who wants to be with me because she loves me as much as I love her. Not one who's scared to death of me and thinks she has to stay with me for the children's sake. I have never insisted that you be with me when you didn't want to be. Our lovemaking only occurs when the both of us want it to happen. It has always been that way and that's not going to change, ever." Walker answered as he moved closer to Alex but she hurriedly stepped back from him so Walker quietly told her " I'm going to turn in now. Good night."  
After Walker went into his room Alex went upstairs to her bedroom and debated wether or not to wake the children up and take them away from Walker. After deciding that since the children were asleep she shouldn't wake them up to take them away from their father in the middle of the night Alex then thought that maybe she was the kind who wrote in a diary so she searched the room until she found them. [She had to know why she would have married a man like him and hopefully the diaries would give her an answer that made sense to her.] Alex read them for several hours and when she was done told herself ' Hard as it is to believe you were in love with that man when you married him. So why are you so scared of him now? What happened to change your faith in him? Whatever it is it must have happened while you were on your own trying to survive and he had nothing to do with it. You have to give him a chance before you break up the children's happy home.' Alex then went downstairs where she turned Walker's light on awakening him.  
" I read through my diaries and they make it quite clear that we were in love when we got married and that we had settled what happened between us the night Beth was conceived. First thing tomorrow I'm going to call and make an appointment to get some counseling. I want to be able to remember you and the children. I want to able to have a loving home for myself, my children and thier father. That is if he feels the same way. Do you Walker? Because if you don't tell me now and I'll have my father move the children and I in with him. I won't stay where I'm not wanted but make no mistake about it, where ever I go my babies go." Alex told Walker who replied " I want our children to be raised just like you do, in a home where the parents love each other. And I do love you Alexandra. I will do anything that you need me to do. Just let me know what it is and I will do it. You have my word." Alex nodded okay and left Walker's bedroom.

Chapter Four

Trivette came over to Walker's desk and asked him " Walker how is Alex doing? Has she remembered anything yet?" Walker replied " Alex is doing okay and no she hasn't remembered anything important yet but she has remembered small things like where the nursery is and the fact that I like turkey meatloaf but that's about it."  
" Just hang in there and before you know it Alex will remember everything." Trivette said as Captain Harland came into Ranger headquarters and told them " There's a armed robbery over on Freemont. I want you two to get over there and investigate it because it looks like the work of the Smiling Shooters gang and yes before you asked they killed the armed guard just to do it." Walker and Trivette left Ranger headquarters to get started on their investigation.  
Several hours later they headed to C.D.'s to grab a bite to eat only to run into Gretchen Mueller who again tried to appear helpful to Walker by saying to him " Cordell would it be okay if I went out to your ranch to check up on Gordan's grandchildren? He's so worried about them all alone out there with his daughter. He's really afraid that she may accidently hurt them in some way without meaning to. Mind you I'm not saying that she would but Gordan worries about them all the time. He also doesn't want Alex to find out that he's worried about her accidently hurting the children. Gordan said if that were to happen Alex would get so mad at him that she wouldn't allow him to see his own grandchildren anymore."  
" No you may not go out to my ranch and visit with Alex anytime soon." Walker answered her then said to C.D. " How about the usual C.D.?" Without waiting for an answer Walker went and sat at a table and was joined by Trivette who said to him " Walker I don't know what Miss Mueller is up to but I can tell you one thing. If Gordan were that worried about his grandchildren he would go out to the ranch and check up on them himself. Another thing there is no way that Alex would hurt one of the children either. I know that Miss Mueller makes it seem like she's trying to be helpful but that lady is really trying to tear Alex down. And as much as I hate to say it I think that she's doing it to get rid of Alex so that she can get her hands on you. That woman is is going to end up being a big problem to Alex and to you too."  
" It doesn't matter what Miss Mueller wants because I would never betray my wife." Walker said to Trivette who responded " I know that man but Alex doesn't know that right now and little Miss Mueller just may find a way to trick Alex into leaving you before she gets her memory back. I'm not telling you what to do Walker but if I were you I would tell Alex that Mueller is up to no good and that you don't allow her at your ranch."  
Walker semi-growled " Trivette I think that I've told you before to stay out of my marriage." Trivette held up his hands in surrender and changed the subject. After they left C.D.'s they got a lead in the 'Smiling Shooter's' case and spent the next several hours following up on it resulting in them be able to track down most of the people involved in the armed robberies. By the time they finished the paperwork it was well after ten o'clock at night. As they were leaving Ranger headquarters Trivette asked " Hey Walker are you coming to C.D.'s with me to grab a bite to eat?" Walker declined and went home to his ranch where he found Alex in the living room on the couch sound asleep. Walker quietly locked up then went to Alex and lightly shook her shoulder to wake her up. After getting her bearings Alex told him " I put a plate in the fridge for you. All you have to do is to heat it up. It's turkey meatloaf by the way. Goodnight."  
" Alex were you able to get an appointment with someone who will help you overcome your fears?" Walker asked Alex who replied " Since I don't have a job I don't have any medical coverage and none of the ones that I called are willing to take me on for free."  
" If you want me to I can sell some of my land and give you the money so that you can afford to pay someone to help you." Walker suggested to Alex who quickly shot him down " I will not have you sell your land to pay for someone to help me. I'll just ask my dad if he can lend me some money until I'm back on my feet and can repay him."  
" Alex you are not asking your father for any money. You are my wife and I will take care of your expenses. I take care of my family, got that?" Walker told Alex who replied " I got that but since I just told you that you aren't going to be selling your land because of me that means the counseling is out. Now not to change the subject but how well do I know a Gretchen Mueller? Is she a friend of mine?"  
" No she isn't a friend of your's. I don't think that you've ever met her but she does work with your father at his law firm. Why do you want to know about her?" Walker answered Alex.  
" No reason. I ran into her on my way out of C.D.'s and she wanted to come out to the ranch to visit with me. I guess that she thought that I might want to see a friendly face. Now that I know that she works with my father I'll just go ahead and invite her out here someday while you at work." Alex said to her husband who stunned her by barking at her " Gretchen Mueller is not welcomed here. Have you got that?"  
Walker quickly regretted the way he had answered his wife because he saw her flinch from the tone of voice that he had used. Softening his voice Walker then told her " Look Alex there's something about Mueller that bothers me and I would really prefer that you didn't invite her out here when I'm at work. If you'd like though we can have a picnic on Sunday and invite some of your friends out here for it. How does that sound?"  
" And these friends would be?" Alex pointedly asked him Walker answered " Phil Holland you worked with him at the D.A.'s office and the metro cop that he's dating, Kim Rivers. Also Josie Wells you knew her in high school and she was in our wedding."  
" We're inviting C.D. and Trivette too, aren't we? They're my friends too, aren't they? And what about my dad?" Alex questioned Walker who answered " Yes Alex we can invite all of them too." " That sounds good to me cowboy but since the picnic is your idea you are maning the grill, got that?" Alex teased her husband who seeing a happy look on her face for a change teased her right back " Yes I got that lady but you are going to be the one making the brownies, got that?"  
Alex held out her hand as she said " It's a deal." When Walker took her hand to shake it Alex was hit by an image of Walker kissing each of her fingers so she removed her hand from his and told him " I'm going to turn in now Cordell. See you in the morning." Walker watched her walk up the stairs to their bedroom knowing that Alex had been affected by his touch. That there was now a reason to believe that Alex would recover her memory.

Chapter Five

Walker was going over the list of things that Alex wanted him to do for their picnic and spotting something that he objected to doing he asked her " Alex do you really need me to wash my truck before the picnic? I mean who's going to see it besides our friends and they know that it sometimes gets dirty." Alex took the list from Walker scratched that out and handed it back to him as she said " I didn't mean to write that down, sorry. But it really does need washed and you know it." Walker looked into her eyes as he held onto her hand for a few seconds longer. Alex then had an image of Walker sliding his hands up her arms to the buttons on her blouse and undoing them then moving on to her bra. Alex quickly removed her hand from his and stepped away. Walker smiled as he realized that Alex had again been affected by him touching her so he decided that he was going to do his best to touch her whenever he could.  
Trivette arrived for the picnic with Josie Wells who went up to Alex who was deep in thought and introduced herself " Hi Alex, I'm Josie Wells. We knew each other in high school but lost touch with each other until I came to your office to get you to help out my cousin. Which by the way you did along with your father. After that you asked me to be one of your bridemaids, so I was in your wedding. So how have you been? Are you remembering anything yet?"  
Alex turned a light shade of red as she recalled what she had just remembered about Walker causing Trivette to ask her " Alex are you okay? Do you want me to get Walker for you?" Alex quickly answered " I'm fine and no I don't want you getting Walker for me." Trivette nodded okay and went over to where Walker was getting the grill ready.  
After he was gone Alex asked " Josie can we talk later? I need to get some answers from someone who'll tell me the truth." Josie agreed so Alex went back into the house to see to the brownies. A short time later Phil Holland arrived with Kim Rivers. Phil went over to where Walker and Trivette were talking while Kim offered to go into the house to see if Alex needed any help with anything. Josie decided to go with her.  
In the kitchen Beth was asking her mother " Mommy can I take the brownies outside now?" Alex answered her daughter " Just this one tray. If you take them all out now you know that your father will eat them all by himself. That man has a huge appetite." Beth took the tray outside while Alex questioned Kim " Do I know you? There's something that tells me that I should."  
Kim replied " My name is Kim Rivers. Phil and I are dating. I was one of your bridemaids too. So have you remembered anything yet?" Josie said " I think that Alex has remembered something about Walker from the way that she blushed before."  
Kim gushed " That's great news, isn't it?" Alex turned a little red as she answered " Well yes I have remembered a few things but they are...uhm... very private things." Josie teased " Leave it to you Alex to only remember the good parts. So tell me is he really that good? You know in private?"  
By now beet red Alex replied " From the few things that I've remembered the man does know how to show a lady a good time. But enough about him. How are you two doing?"  
Gordan arrived for the picnic and Gretchen whom he had invited to the picnic arrived shortly after him, driving her own car. Gordan told Walker that he had invited Gretchen to the picnic because she really wanted to be a friend to Alex. Knowing that he really couldn't demand that Gretchen leave the ranch without explaining why he wanted her gone Walker replied " Alex has two of her friends already here and I don't think that she needs anymore friends right now when she has so much to deal with."  
" I just want to help Alex out anyway that I can. Gordan has told me so much about her that I feel as though I already know her. So if you don't mind I'll just go over there and talk to her right now to see how she's doing." Gretchen said to Walker and headed over to where Alex was talking with Josie and Kim. Trivette who saw Gretchen head towards Alex went over there himself and said to Alex " Hey Alex how about you helping me beat your husband at horseshoes? Please say yes because I really need to beat him at something." Alex excused herself and followed Trivette to the horseshoe area. After they had lost to Walker and C.D. Trivette then very strongly suggested that Gordan and Gretchen play Walker and C.D. and seeing no graceful way out of it Gretchen plastered a smile on her face and went over to play horseshoes. Trivette then went over to where Phil, Kim and Josie were standing and told them " Walker and I both think that Miss Mueller is up to something and that it doesn't bode well for Alex. She has been doing her best to tear Alex down without appearing to do do. So if the three of you don't mind will you help us keep her away from Alex?" Puzzled but wanting to help Alex they all agreed.  
As the picnic was winding down Gretchen who had caught onto what they had been doing spotted Alex heading into the house and seeing her chance to get Alex alone followed her in there. Once inside she said to Alex " I don't have much time before he comes in here but have you noticed that Cordell is doing everything to keep you away from me?" When Alex nodded yes that she had noticed Gretchen added " Alex I don't want to upset you but did you know that Cordell never once looked for you? I mean if he really loved you wouldn't he have known that you were still alive and at least thought about looking for you? But he didn't and isn't there a part of you that wonders why unless of course deep down inside of you you already know the answer. One last thing Alex if I were you I would look around to see if there's any clothing around here that doesn't belong to you. You know like in his bedroom. I'm sorry I'm not trying to hurt you but someone had to tell you what Cordell has really been up to. You deserve to hear the truth about him and his cheating ways which go back to before you were missing."  
Shortly after that Gordan came into the house to find Alex in tears. Going to his daughter he asked her " Alex is everything okay?" Alex replied " No Dad everything is not okay. I'm going to pack some things then the children and I are going to be moving in with you until we can find a place of our own. Can you please go outside and tell everyone that I'm not feeling good right now and that they should leave?" Gordan replied that he would. After everyone but Gretchen and Gordan had left the ranch Walker was headed towards the house but was stopped by Gordan who told him " Alex is packing some of the children's things so that they can move in with me. Walker I wouldn't go along with it but when I went into the house before Alex was in tears so I think that it's for the best if she stays at my place until she can figure things out."  
Before Walker could say anything a smirking Gretchen said " I'll just go and see if Alex needs help with anything." Walker grabbed her by the arm and informed her " The picnic is over with so leave my ranch and don't ever come back here." Alex who had come out of the house with several suitcases and saw Walker holding Gretchen's arm went to her father and told him " All I have to do is to transfer Little Cord's car seat then I'll be ready to go."  
Walker released Gretchen's arm and she got into her car and drove away. Beth asked her mother " Where are you going Mommy? And why are you taking Little Cord with you?" Seeing the state that Alex was in Walker answered " Listen Beth you know that your mother is having some trouble with her memory so she's going to go live with her father until she gets her memory back. Now Grandpa Gordan was telling me how much he has missed his grandchildren so I told him that it would be okay if the two of you were to stay over his place for awhile. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"  
Beth answered her father " But only until next weekend Daddy." Walker nodded okay and his family got into Gordan's car which was driven away. Walker went into his house slammed the door shut and went downstairs to his basement gym where he put himself through a punishing workout.

Chapter Six

A few hours later Walker came back upstairs from his workout wearing only a pair of pants to find Gretchen standing in his hallway. Walker went to the door and held it open as he told her " I thought that I told you that you weren't welcomed here?" Gretchen refused to leave and instead moved closer to Walker and tried to slide her arms around his neck as she said to him " Come on Cordell. Why are you acting like you don't want me? You and I both know that you really want me but that right now you have to act like you care about your wife."  
Walker avoided her arms as he snapped " I don't want you. Now get out of my house." Gretchen tried again " Oh come off of it Cordell. Alex isn't here to hear you protesting that you don't want me. As a matter of fact she's left you for good from what I saw earlier. Besides it's not like she even wants you. I mean she told me earlier today that she no longer loved you and was just faking her amnesia until she was able to get her children away from you. The woman lived with another man while she was suppossedly missing. That should tell you everything you need to know about her so-called amnesia. You need a woman like me who'll please you in ways that I'll bet you never even thought of. So what is it going to be? Are you going to be a fool and hold out hope that Alex when she gets tired of seeing yet another man will return to you? Or are you going to let me help you get over her betraying you?"  
Walker who was furious by now because he realized that Gretchen had somehow played a role in Alex's packing up the children and going to her father's responded " Let's get a few things straight. Alex is not faking her amnesia, nor was she living with another man while she was missing. That bastard took advantage of her state and then he abused her. Alex has never betrayed me nor will she ever betray our wedding vows, neither will I. So for the last time get out of my house and don't ever return here because if you do so I might be tempted to forget the fact that you're a woman."  
Gretchen smirked at Walker as she told him " Fine have it your way then. By the way Cordell did you know that Alex thinks that you've already betrayed your wedding vows? I made very sure of that earlier by telling her to look around for clothes that weren't her's and I'm willing to bet that she found some. When you come to your senses just call me and I'll come running. "  
" Someday Alex will remember us and know that she was set up by you. She and our children will return here where they belong." Walker vowed to Gretchen who laughed " Sure she will. She now thinks that you were cheating on her before she disappeared and even if she were to forgive you for that. Do you really think that she'll forgive you for not looking for her? But enough about that loser. Since I want you I'm willing to give you another chance. So how about it Cordell? Are you game? You have no idea what you're missing. I can set your world on fire. All my lovers say that." Walker went over to the door and held it open again this time Gretchen left the house.  
Walker went into his living room and sat down on the couch staring into the fireplace. A short time later Trivette arrived and called out as he entered the house " Walker are you here man?"  
Walker went into the hallway as he asked " What do you want Trivette?" Trivette replied " I just wanted to know if you wanted to talk about things, that's all." " You can talk to him tomorrow at work Trivette. Right now my husband and I need to do some more talking of our own." Alex said stunning Walker because he hadn't even realized that she was in the house. Trivette who turned around to see that Alex was as far as he could tell just wearing a shirt of Walker's couldn't help himself and teased " Would that be the kind of talking that the two of you did on your honeymoon? Or the kind that involves throwing things at my partner before he can duck them?"  
Alex slid her arms around Walker's waist and laid her head on his chest as she answered " He's always been very good at the kind of talking that we did on our honeymoom. Now would you mind leaving? I need to talk with him again." Walker exclaimed " Alex you can't say... Alex how could ...oh never mind." Trivette seeing that Walker was really starting to turn red quickly said " I'm out of here and Alex please don't tire him out too much. Okay? We have a task force meeting tomorrow. " Trivette then left the house laughing.  
Walker looked at Alex who removed her arms and told him " We really do need to talk without anyone around so my father is going to keep our children overnight. I had him drop me off away from the house so that I could come back here without anyone noticing and boy did I get a earful that I sure wasn't expecting."  
" I know, where do you want to start?" Walker asked as they sat down on the couch, Alex replied " With the truth. That's all I want or need from you."

Chapter Seven

Alex looked at Walker and told him " There are several things that I need to tell you and there are some questions that I need the answers to. So would you mind me going first?" Walker agreed so Alex moved away from him to sit on the chair then she began " I think that you need to know that I have been remembering a few things like the fact that you like turkey meatloaf, where the nursery was and you being so damn good in bed. But that's not what's important right now. What is important is the fact that I was missing for several months and you didn't look for me. Why is that Cordell John Walker? I also need to know why I found a bra and panties in your bedroom that most certainly are not mine. Can you explain any of that for me? And while you're at it can you tell me why someone who works with my father is so determined to bed you? And has she bedded you before?"  
Walker answered " I do not know why Miss Mueller is so interested in me. I've told her several times that I wasn't interested in her. And no she has not bedded me before. I would never betray you in that manner. About the bra and panties I have no idea how they got there unless they belong to Miss Mueller and she left them behind when she stayed out here to help your father watch our children while I was on a undercover assignment. It was the same one where you saved my hide. Alex why didn't you tell me that you were remembering things?"  
" You still haven't answered the question about you not bothering to look for me. Why didn't you look for me? Is it because there's a part of you that wants Gretchen? I need honest answers from you." Alex said starting to get tears in her eyes. Seeing that Walker went over and knelt in front of his wife and was reaching for her hands when Alex told him " On no you don't cowboy. You aren't going to distract me with your sexy body and get out of answering my questions. So go back over there and sit down on the couch before you answer me."  
Returning to the couch Walker sat back down and replied " Alex how can you even think that there's a part of me that wants a woman like her? Or any other woman for that matter? You are the only woman that I want or need. And before you ask I was not leading her on. I wouldn't begin to know how to lead a woman on, okay? I think that you are the only woman that I ever thought about seducing and believe me I didn't do a very good job of it. You ended up seducing me." " Walker I hate to break it to you but all you have to do is to give a woman that cute little half smile of your's and flex a muscle or two and most of them will swoon at your feet. Having said that we can drop her hitting on you because deep down inside of me I do know that you would never betray our wedding vows. It's not in your nature. And before you start over here again you still need to explain why you didn't search for me." Alex informed Walker who nodded okay then told her " Alex we were told that you had driven your car into a bridge abuttment and that it had burst into flames outside of San Antonio. Trivette came along with me to identify your body but I told him that it wasn't you but the evidence said that it was and I had no real reason to think that you were still alive. So he and your father buried that woman, whoever she was as you. Even though my soul said that you were still alive somewhere my head said that wasn't possible because if you were still alive you would have let me know. It never occurred to me that you were out there somewhere with amnesia. Alex I should have ignored the evidence and looked for you but I didn't. I have no excuse for that and I understand why you're upset with me not looking for you. Is there anything else that you need to know?"  
Alex moved over to where Walker was sitting and told him " Yes I've been remembering the two of us in bed and I want to know if my memories are right or I'm just making them up because my body wants your's." Walker not quite understanding what Alex was asking of him said " What are you talking about Alex?" Instead of wasting any more time with words Alex pulled Walker to her and kissed him soundly. Walker tried to pull away as he said " This isn't right. You don't remember me and I can't take advantage of you at a time like this."  
Alex kissed him again then said " Oh all right. You are so shy at times. Just let me kiss you one more time to see if that triggers any more memories then I'll promise not to try and seduce you again." Walker leaned in and kissed Alex then asked her " Well did that trigger anymore memories?"  
Alex shook her head no and Walker backed away so Alex told him " I'm getting a little chilly. Would you mind starting a fire?" Walker got up and started the fire for Alex then sat back down besides her as he asked " Is there anything that I can do for you?"  
" Well since we now a fire going in the fireplace how about you letting me kiss you again?" Without waiting for an answer Alex kissed Walker who said " Alex please stop. You know that I can't resist you when we're in front of a fire." Alex smiled as she replied " That's what I'm counting on cowboy. Now will you please co-operate?" She then kissed Walker until he was unable to resist her any longer and pulled her even closer. Once they were done Walker said " I'm sorry Alex. I shouldn't have done that to you." With a very happy smile on her face Alex replied " I'm not because you are every bit as good at that as I remember. Although if anyone owes someone an apology it's me because I know how you are about making love. It's not something that you take lightly. But I had to know whether or not I was remembering our times together or just wishing they had happened because your touch was setting me on fire. You really know how to show me how much you love me. Yes Cordell. I was really remembering our times together."  
Walker questioned her " Did you really remember us making love in the past? Are you remembering anything else?" Alex answered him " Oh yeah I do remember our lovemaking. I also remember the fact that we always do it more than once. So are you ready to go again?" Walker was reaching for her when Alex cried out " Walker my head it hurts so bad. Please get me some aspirins, will you?" Walker quickly got up from the floor as he asked her " Do you want to call an ambulance for you?" Alex shook her head no as she told him " The memories are overwhelming me right now. After you get me the aspirins would you mind holding me while I tell you what I'm remembering? You can help me make sense of them because some of them aren't making any sense to me. Some of them are about us...well agreeing to disagree and us both telling C.D. how stubborn the other one is." After Alex took the aspirins Walker then gathered her into his arms and carried her into the downstairs bedroom and laid her down on the bed. Walker joined his wife in the bed and pulled her into his arms then held her as she recounted her memories.  
Early the next morning Alex stirred awakening her husband who asked her " How are you feeling Alex?" She answered him " I'm feeling great now that I've remembered my life. Who would have thought that making love with my husband would cause me to remember my life? It really was a very enjoyable cure for my amnesia. Thank you dear."  
" Well in thast case. how about we make some more memories for you to remember some day?" Walker teased as he pulled her close again but Alex told him " My dad is bringing our children home soon and we need to get dressed but tonight cowboy I'm keeping you up half the night." Walker kissed her then said " I will hold you to that my lady."  
Alex then told him " Tomorrow we are going to decide what to do about Dwight McKee. That man needs to pay for what he did to me and more importantly his keeping our family apart." Walker told Alex as she got up from the bed as he vowed " I will make sure that he pays for what he did to you Alex." Alex nodded okay and went into the living room where she put the shirt on she had been wearing the previous evening. Walker who had come into the hallway naked asked his wife " How soon are they going to here?"  
Alex backed up to the steps as she answered " Well you know cowboy you do have some of your clothes in our room and you can get dressed in there after we take a shower together. But just so you know if I get to the shower first I'm in charge." Walker watched as Alex ran up the steps then he followed her with a grin on his face.


End file.
